Chaenactis glabriuscula var. orcuttiana

Orcutt's pincushion, Orcutt's Pincushion

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Orcutt's pincushion is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in southern coastal California in coastal dunes and bluffs at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces white to cream-colored flowers in small clusters with heads 4.5 to 6.5 millimeters long. Growing with multiple spreading stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it develops 3 to 7 branches that spread both proximally and distally. Its leaves are fleshy and typically 2 to 5 centimeters long, with 2-pinnately lobed blades having 2 to 7 pairs of lobes that are flat or slightly curled. The plant's unique involucre is nearly hemispheric, with outer phyllaries that are shaggy and glandular-hairy.

Habitat: Coastal dunes, bluffs

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: SCo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.